Committee hears proposal for voluntary rent-reporting pilot to build renters’ credit scores

The Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee on March 19 heard testimony supporting a pilot program to report on-time rent payments to consumer credit bureaus, a step proponents said could help renters establish or improve credit histories.

Corey Parent, a landlord and committee witness, described how on-time rental payments do not currently benefit tenants’ credit reports while other regular payments — such as car loans and medical bills — are recorded. Parent said landlords already face high costs when a tenant is evicted and that adding positive rent reporting could both reward reliable tenants and give landlords better screening information.

Michael Pichette, Vermont State Treasurer, told the panel the concept mirrors pilots in other states — notably Colorado — and is typically structured as a voluntary, opt-in program for both landlords and tenants. The treasurer’s office said pilots generally focus on positive reporting (on-time payments) to avoid disproportionate negative impacts and to test whether positive reporting measurably raises credit scores or establishes credit for those without bureau records.

Becky Wasserman of the Office of the Treasurer said landlords can already report positive and negative rental histories to credit bureaus through third-party services or collections firms, and that some bureau-direct interfaces have come online recently. She estimated vendor costs at roughly $1–$10 per unit based on research and described the pilot as a way to increase uptake and to test design details.

Witnesses and committee members discussed safeguards for tenants who are unenrolled from the pilot — for example, because they stop making payments while in the program — and whether landlords would be expected or required to report negatives outside the pilot. The treasurer and members said unenrolled tenants could still have negative history reported by landlords through existing mechanisms; the committee asked staff to examine how other pilots handled reenrollment and disclosure of unenrollment to future landlords.

Committee members requested additional draft language to clarify: opt-in mechanics for tenants and landlords; whether reporting must include both positive and negative items while a tenant remains enrolled; vendor costs and contract mechanisms; and how to handle disputes under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The committee signaled broad interest in a pilot that concentrates on positive reporting while ensuring accuracy and consumer protections, and asked Treasury, VHCB and other partners to help refine the design.